James Robert “Bob” GOCHNAUER

1933 - 2005  (72 years)

• Name	James Robert “Bob” GOCHNAUER  [1, 2]
  Birth	1933	Colorado Springs, Colorado
  Gender	Male
  HIST	JAMES R. GOCHNAUER James Robert "Bob" Gochnauer, 72, husband of Patricia "Pat" Gochnauer, died Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005, at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville. Born in Colorado Springs, Colo., he was a son of the late James Raymond Gochnauer and the late Fern Mary Alice Mayberry Gochnauer. Mr. Gochnauer was a member of Westside Baptist Church and the American Legion Post No. 15. He was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years of service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war. Surviving are his wife of Sumter; three daughters, Lori Gochnauer of Sumter, Melanie Gochnauer and Jodie Gochnauer, both of Asheville, N.C.; a brother, Carl Gochnauer of Lake Park, Iowa; two sisters, Bernice Miller of Colorado Springs and Linda Weatherman of Denver. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westside Baptist Church with the Rev. Mark Bordeaux officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery with full military honors. Pallbearers will be Grant Head, Wayne Stevens, Don Forsberg, Dale Wycoff, Larry Harwood and Jim Grasty. Honorary pallbearers will be Paul Register and Glenn Melberg. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Westside Baptist Church, 554 Pinewood Road, Sumter, SC 29154. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements. Posted in Obits on Thursday, November 10, 2005 Pilot remembered for love of flying Share Share Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Pilot remembered for love of flying Pilot remembered for love of flying Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2005 12:00 am A 72-year-old Sumter man killed when his ultralight plane crashed near Interstate 20 in Lee County on Tuesday was remembered Wednesday as a "wonderful man who loved to fly." James Robert "Bob" Gochnauer of 9 Golfair Court, who was piloting the aircraft, was pronounced dead shortly before 5 p.m. at Carolina Pines Hospital in Hartsville. His passenger in the two-passenger plane, Doug Roth, 49, who Gochnauer's family identified as an acquaintance from Texas, was transported to Carolina Pines with non-life-threatening injuries and was listed in stable condition Tuesday. The plane crashed near the entrance ramp on I-20 eastbound at Exit 116, closing the interstate while crews removed the plane. Gochnauer "lived to fly," according to his wife of 51 years, Pat Gochnauer. "I didn't have the same passion for flying he had," she said. "We did everything else together. He taught me how to play pool. We loved playing cards and we loved the live theater." Gochnauer was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war in early 1971. Don Forsberg, 70, remembered his friend and fellow pilot as "the best friend you could ever have." "'Sky' was an excellent pilot," he said. "We were both members of the Tree Top Flyers, an ultralight club in Pelion. We'd fly short distances together, side-by-side." Forsberg said his friend loved a challenge and always wanted to win, but when he lost, he was a gracious loser. "He did his best in everything he did," Forsberg said. "He was a combat pilot in Vietnam and Korea, but he never talked about his missions or his accomplishments." Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linden Gill, 77, of Knoxville, Tenn., saw news of the crash on a Web site early Wednesday morning. "We flew together in the same squadron in Vietnam in 1968 in Pleiku," Gill said from his home. "We flew the old double propeller Sky Raiders." Gill said he and Gochnauer hadn't spoken in years, but Gochnauer's death brought back memories almost four decades old. "I'm saddened by his death," Gill said. "It's a hazard all pilots face." Jimmy and Gloria Mack, friends of the Gochnauers, said they will miss their friend. "He was like a parent to me," Jimmy Mack said. "He was a very, very loving man. Very considerate and a wonderful person." Mack said Gochnauer tried to get him to fly, but they never got around to it. "He always wanted me to fly," Mack said. "We never got up in the plane." Contact Staff Writer Sharron Haley at shaley@theitem.com or 803-435-8511. Print Share Share Posted in News01 on Thursday, November 10, 2005  [1]
  HIST	JAMES R. GOCHNAUER James Robert "Bob" Gochnauer, 72, husband of Patricia "Pat" Gochnauer, died Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005, at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville. Born in Colorado Springs, Colo., he was a son of the late James Raymond Gochnauer and the late Fern Mary Alice Mayberry Gochnauer. Mr. Gochnauer was a member of Westside Baptist Church and the American Legion Post No. 15. He was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years of service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war. Surviving are his wife of Sumter; three daughters, Lori Gochnauer of Sumter, Melanie Gochnauer and Jodie Gochnauer, both of Asheville, N.C.; a brother, Carl Gochnauer of Lake Park, Iowa; two sisters, Bernice Miller of Colorado Springs and Linda Weatherman of Denver. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westside Baptist Church with the Rev. Mark Bordeaux officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery with full military honors. Pallbearers will be Grant Head, Wayne Stevens, Don Forsberg, Dale Wycoff, Larry Harwood and Jim Grasty. Honorary pallbearers will be Paul Register and Glenn Melberg. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Westside Baptist Church, 554 Pinewood Road, Sumter, SC 29154. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements. Posted in Obits on Thursday, November 10, 2005 Pilot remembered for love of flying Share Share Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Pilot remembered for love of flying Pilot remembered for love of flying Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2005 12:00 am A 72-year-old Sumter man killed when his ultralight plane crashed near Interstate 20 in Lee County on Tuesday was remembered Wednesday as a "wonderful man who loved to fly." James Robert "Bob" Gochnauer of 9 Golfair Court, who was piloting the aircraft, was pronounced dead shortly before 5 p.m. at Carolina Pines Hospital in Hartsville. His passenger in the two-passenger plane, Doug Roth, 49, who Gochnauer's family identified as an acquaintance from Texas, was transported to Carolina Pines with non-life-threatening injuries and was listed in stable condition Tuesday. The plane crashed near the entrance ramp on I-20 eastbound at Exit 116, closing the interstate while crews removed the plane. Gochnauer "lived to fly," according to his wife of 51 years, Pat Gochnauer. "I didn't have the same passion for flying he had," she said. "We did everything else together. He taught me how to play pool. We loved playing cards and we loved the live theater." Gochnauer was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war in early 1971. Don Forsberg, 70, remembered his friend and fellow pilot as "the best friend you could ever have." "'Sky' was an excellent pilot," he said. "We were both members of the Tree Top Flyers, an ultralight club in Pelion. We'd fly short distances together, side-by-side." Forsberg said his friend loved a challenge and always wanted to win, but when he lost, he was a gracious loser. "He did his best in everything he did," Forsberg said. "He was a combat pilot in Vietnam and Korea, but he never talked about his missions or his accomplishments." Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linden Gill, 77, of Knoxville, Tenn., saw news of the crash on a Web site early Wednesday morning. "We flew together in the same squadron in Vietnam in 1968 in Pleiku," Gill said from his home. "We flew the old double propeller Sky Raiders." Gill said he and Gochnauer hadn't spoken in years, but Gochnauer's death brought back memories almost four decades old. "I'm saddened by his death," Gill said. "It's a hazard all pilots face." Jimmy and Gloria Mack, friends of the Gochnauers, said they will miss their friend. "He was like a parent to me," Jimmy Mack said. "He was a very, very loving man. Very considerate and a wonderful person." Mack said Gochnauer tried to get him to fly, but they never got around to it. "He always wanted me to fly," Mack said. "We never got up in the plane." Contact Staff Writer Sharron Haley at shaley@theitem.com or 803-435-8511. Print Share Share Posted in News01 on Thursday, November 10, 2005
  MILI	He was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years of service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war.  [1]
  MILI	He was a retired U.S. Air Force major with 22 years of service and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Command Squadron as a pilot and flew in the Son Tay Raid mission to rescue prisoners of war.
  _UID	A8B72976AEDA40418F4BA1147FF6CDF6CEE1
  _UID	A8B72976AEDA40418F4BA1147FF6CDF6CEE1
  Death	8 Nov 2005	Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Hartsville, South Carolina
  Burial	11 Nov 2005	Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [1]
  	Elmore-Hill-McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, Sumter, South Carolina Elmore-Hill-McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I272994	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	18 Dec 2011

  
  

  Father	James Raymond GOCHNAUER   d. Bef 8 Nov 2005
  Mother	Fern Mary Alice MAYBERRY   d. Bef 8 Nov 2005
  _UID	EA8DADA0B93144C4AAB35868A27452447FE5
  _UID	EA8DADA0B93144C4AAB35868A27452447FE5
  Family ID	F183658	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Patricia “Pat”
  Marriage	1954  [2]
  _UID	44080D1CE48D4206AA928D8F88FED3DAB964
  _UID	44080D1CE48D4206AA928D8F88FED3DAB964
  Children	1. Lori GOCHNAUER   2. Melanie GOCHNAUER   3. Jodie GOCHNAUER
  Family ID	F87247	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	18 Dec 2011

  
  

• Sources

  [S17061] James R. Gochnauer. [S17062] Pilot rememberd for love of flying.